First time mama sharing beautiful moments and real life parenting adventures.

C is for…

…comedy conversations

I’d almost forgotten about this when I started writing my ‘C’ of parenting but it was one I just couldn’t miss out. Comedy conversations don’t pop up so frequently any more but in the early days of sleep deprived parenting they were a source of hilarity in the middle of the night.

Most often they would consist of Jonny talking nonsense in a half asleep, half awake, confused and overtired state and he would have no recollection of it in the morning. The one conversation that stands out for me still is our chat about KFC. There were definitely nights that I had no patience for nonsense chat but this one particular night I decided to have a conversation with him. So when he started talking about chicken we somehow ended up going down the line of KFC not having delivered the chicken when they said they would. It turns that they were actually due to have a delivery at work that hadn’t quite come off but we definitely got lost in a conversation that made me laugh out loud in the middle of the night.

I wish I could recall it word for word for you because that’s where the hilarity lies but sadly it’s been too long.

Did anyone else get into these conversations in those early days of months of parenting?

…community

Without a doubt, I could not have got through my motherhood journey so far without community.

After we had Esther our gorgeous church family cooked meals for us for the first three weeks which was incredible. Since we moved into our house our friend Ben has lived with us; he saw us through the early unknown days of parenting [do they ever really become known?!] and has journeyed through Esther’s first eighteen months with us.
Esther absolutely loves him. He did so much to help in those first days when I couldn’t move much and I love the relationship he has with Estie. It is so precious to see.

Through baby group I’ve met Jo who is an absolute pal. Our babies were born two days apart so it’s fun seeing them grow up together. They’re so different .. Jorgie climbs up everything, Esther just isn’t bothered .. but it’s been so nice to do the last 12 months with Jo. We can share advice on what the girls are doing now and give each other coffee when we’ve had a rough night. We had the same name, our girls were born two days apart and we had the same pram; our friendship was destined to be!

I’m part of a WhatsApp group of mamas who all had babies within 6 months of each other. We often pop our latest questions on there, ask each other to pray or share fun stories and videos of what our little ones are up to know. They are such a valuable helping hand and thoughtful, wonderful ladies. Even though we see each other less now that most of us are back at work we still keep in touch about what we’re up to and I love that. I also learnt so much from these gals about how different everyone’s parenting journey is which has been so helpful for me. You only know what you know but shared journeys definitely open your eyes to the differences in everyone’s experience.

Our childminders are good friends and Esther absolutely loves days spent with them and their family. And she gets to spend a day with her grandparents each month when they so generously pop up to look after her; it’s such a treat that gets that quality time when we don’t live close by.

And in those first six – eight months when it was so tough, so many of our friends in Parson Cross would look after Esther when I needed some down time, give me a cuddle when I needed some love and be available to hang out when I needed some company. Those who had parented already shared their wisdom so helpfully with me and it definitely got to me where I am today.

I definitely credit community for making these last twenty months what they have been. And that’s without the obvious mention of Jonny and the rest of our families. Huge credit to those mums and dads out there who do it without people around them; you are total heroes!